Urd
by Analog Rhymes
Summary: Møyfrid knew there was a path in her life first shaped with the help of the Norns at the Well of Urd and carved into the trunk of Yggdrasil. In her life there were forces and choices that shaped her, some she had no control over. She knew one day her life would end but she did not want it to end here, with the image of the Valkyrie's cold metal mask as her last mortal memory.
1. Møyfrid

Møyfrid couldn't help but revel at the lightness in her center as she stood with the others, in anticipation of the fight to come. She could still feel the edge of the herbs that she and her band had smoked and thrown onto their dying fires only a few hours earlier. She wanted to move. Her stomach fluttered for a moment as some unknown worry tugged at the back of her mind, like a misstroke on a harp. But it was only a second, so faint that she just blamed a bad herb in the smoke.

The morning air was a maelstrom of sound. The crops around them still smoldered. The wind tousled the mighty oak trees that surrounded the clearing. Ravens had gathered in the trees, chattering in their loud cacophonous way.

And then there were the sounds of men; every move they made added to the ambiance preceding the fight. Mail (for those who had it) cried out with joy at even the slightest shuffle. Shields nudged each other as their carriers shifted.. On the edge of the clearing, a large blackthorn tree had been recently cut down; it was the only silence to be unheard. . It had no voice when the wind ruffled its dying leaves. The silence of the blackthorn tree drifted over all in the clearing, waiting to be released.

Again Møyfrid's stomach fluttered as she waited. She stood shoulder to shoulder with men she had know since childhood. Some had been boys she had played with and others were uncles and friends of her father: old men, who were still old. Every time she stood with these men was different, there were often new faces but more often there were familiar faces missing. This time it was her father's face that was missing. Before, she had come on these adventures with him – this year, she was his replacement.

She squeezed the hilt of her father's sword. Her own small axe hung on her belt, along with a tiny knife that was more for gathering herbs and cutting meat then fighting, but if needed it could still be an effective weapon.

An uncle was to her right, her mother's youngest brother, and to her left was Bjørn, her husband. He turned and smiled when she saw her looking at him. She turned away, straightening her back and puffing out her chest. She heard him chuckle and she couldn't help but smile, slightly drunk on her luck. They had known each other since childhood and had always been close friends. She looked back at him, trying to be subtle by turning her head slightly, but when she did, she saw that he was still looking at her.

"What are you looking at?" Møyfrid said gruffly.

"The sun," he said, "And her beauty is blinding."

"That's dramatic," Møyfrid said dryly.

Bjørn was short compared to most for the men she knew. In fact, he was shorter than Møyfrid, not by much, but enough that she had teased him endlessly when she had first realized it. He had finally had enough of her teasing one day when they were fishing, responding by, with little exertion on his part, picking her up and throwing her into the lake. She had swum back to shore as he followed in the boat, not letting him help her even as the cool summer breeze made her shiver as she walked home. Her father had taken Bjørn's side when she had told him what had happened and after she recovered from the cold she'd gotten, she had apologized to him.

"If I'm the sun what does that make you? The moon?" she afforded him.

"Skoll," he answered.

Møyfrid snorted.

"But Skoll only catches Sol when the world ends," she countered. "You have me now and the world hasn't ended."

He opened his mouth to respond but was cut short as the enemy appeared.

First were a few of the most well prepared fighters, they were the only ones who appeared ready. Then the rest of the men gathered behind them. A handful of archers had climbed onto the thatched roofs of the building nearest to the edge of the town. A bell rang from the church and the archers on the roof prepared a first attack.

This town was harboring a criminal, a man who had been sentenced to death and had escaped. Eventually, those who had sentenced him had learned of his existence here and had sent a messenger with a letter proclaiming his crime as an enemy of man, but they had refused to give him up and Møyfrid's band had been sent to reclaim him.

The archer's attacked.

"Shields up!" Erling, another uncle and leader of the party, shouted from the back of the group. The shields rippled up, protecting everyone beneath them. From the shadows of the forest, their own archers retaliated, aiming less at the men and more at the roofs they stood on. Their arrows had been wrapped in cloth and soaked in pitch. Before they were launched, the archers dipped them in embers, setting the ends on fire. The enemy didn't notice until it was too late and, not being prepared to put out the fire, the roofs quickly surrendered to the flame.

In the chaos, their enemy scattered . With the archers taken care of, (or at least out of their perches) the wall dissolved as Møyfrid's band charged its enemy.

Møyfrid drew her father's sword, fatally wounding a man before he fully realized what was happening. The last thing he would see in this world were the ice-grey eyes of a madwoman before him. She wondered if he would have even realized she was a woman.

A wicked smile spread like poison across her face as she saw the fear flicker in her next opponent's eyes. He quickly put it aside, and launched himself at Møyfrid. He was a strong opponent but Møyfrid was faster. She got inside his guard when he misstepped and quickly knocked into him, disrupting his balance. As he flailed, she struck as his center with her sword, killing him.

She looked at the fight around her, a majority of the men had been killed and her band had moved into the town. She saw Bjørn on the edge of the town and went to meet him when movement in the forest caught her eye. She turned and ran after the figure, not knowing if the man they had been sent after had been killed or captured. She jumped over the short bushes bordering the forest and onto open forest floor. She wasn't far behind him but he hadn't noticed her yet. She was also faster than him and she quickly caught up to him, slamming her shield into his back and sending him flying forward.

She waited for him to stand and face her.

"Only cowards run when their kinsmen fight," she said taunting him. Møyfrid didn't even know if he had understood her.

"Then I won't run, I've made my peace with God," he said, drawing his weapons: two thin blades with a delicate curve.

"That crucified God, how can he protect others if he couldn't even save himself," Møyfrid said, feeling a shiver run down her spine as she realized this was the man her band had been sent after.

He attacked first, slashing at Møyfrid. She stepped to the side and then back as the opposite sword came at her from the other direction. One sword he used to block her blade - the other he slashed at her under her shield.

Frustrated, she backed away, dropping her shield and taking out her axe, knowing now she could match his speed better.

Møyfrid quickly adapted to his style, avoiding some of the fancier moves he tried to bait her with. She saw no opening and so she misstepped, baiting him to rush and create a striking point.

It worked.

He opened up his center just for a moment and Møyfrid struck, driving her sword into his chest. His knife, however, grazed her, cutting her cheek and down the center of her chin. The attack was weak and made only a shallow cut. She knew it may not even scar.

He was not quite dead yet so Møyfrid finished him with a few blows to his neck. His head would be removed later. She wiped the blood from her hand on his tunic not bothering with her face. She wanted her hands clean as she stripped his weapons from him. She removed his belt and took the knives from his hands, resheathing them. For now, she fastened the belt around her waist, knowing that was the easiest way to carry them, and slid the small dagger he had had tucked under his belt in place. She sheathed her own sword and put her axe back under her own belt. She stood, going to get her shield, enjoying the weight of it all but feeling slightly silly carrying it all.

She knelt down, bracing the shield against the ground to put it on when she was stabbed in the back. She cursed in pain as she pulled out her axe and turned, wildly slashing at the presence behind her, almost blinded by rage and pain. Her attacker screamed as the axe left a long, deep cut over her chest.

All the color drained from Møyfrid's face. The little girl who had stabbed her had fallen to the ground, her hands already covered in blood. Møyfrid forgot about her own wound and tried to help the girl, not sure what to do. She looked back to the fight for help and saw Bjørn. She cried out and there was a sharp pain in her neck that cut her off.

Bjørn looked towards the forest and Møyfrid's reached for the pain in her neck, pulling out a small metal arrow with a needle point. She looked up and saw Bjørn headed towards the forest.

She felt sick now, unable to keep her balance, and dizzy. She began to lose focus, black creeping at the edge of her vision, but she saw as Bjørn was attacked. His opponent struck him, stabbing him with a spear. She saw as he fell and she screamed.

She could hardly see and couldn't stand up, but she tried to run for him, tripping quickly and trying to stand again. She felt something grab her, like an arm being wrapped around her waist. She turned to fight whoever was holding her but saw only the forest canopy above her. Then a metal mask appeared.

Møyfrid couldn't hear anything except her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she clawed at the mask above her. She knew she was screaming and cursing the Valkyrie to let her go. She couldn't see now but the image of the Valkyrie mask was burned into her mind's eye, she could feel her soul being pulled apart and separated. She felt herself being divided as she lost feeling in her physical body.

The last thing she felt was being lifted and carried, but a wave of dizziness destroyed all chance of Møyfrid processing the movement as anything other than movement as her body finally surrendered, cutting her off from the world.

* * *

 **So I don't know if I'm going to continue this story but I liked the idea of Predator's and Shield Maidens whether or not the latter actually existed is a whole other debate. This is also and experiment for me explore the Pr-Christian ethos and mindset of a heathen world. Am I doing it justice? Probably not but I thought a story would be a nice way to help me puzzle some of these things out. So let me know if you'd like me to continue. ^^  
**


	2. Childhood

Møyfrid finished scraping the ashes from the fire pit into the old cloth she'd placed beside it. She gathered the corners and carefully carried it outside and to another building on the property. She put them into a ceramic pot, checking to see full it was, when it was full she and her mother and grandmother would make soap. She hated making soap. She took the fabric and left closing the door behind her. Once she was out shaking the dust from it. The wind blowing it away from her. Her mother was milking goats in their pen on the other side of the house and her grandmother had been weaving inside. Her brother was gone with her father into town. All the farm hands were out in the fields. Her family's farm was the northernmost in the area. Around its north, east, and west there was only mountains and forest .

A gust of wind blew up from the south and the clouds parted sunlight falling down. Møyfrid smiled at its warmth and decided, that before her mother found her she would take the chance and run. She was not suppose to go up the mountain by herself because her mother said she was too young so she was careful to avoid her mother and the fields with the skill all children seem to possess. She ran until she was hidden beneath the canopy of trees happy to be free from any chores. She started down a well worn game path deeper into the forest.

Squirrels barked warning each other and birds sang back and forth. They all seemed to be enjoying the rare warm day just as much as Møyfrid. She didn't bother lifting her too-short skirt as she started up a small incline. She grabbed a fallen stick as she walked dragging it along the ground for a little while before dropping it. Ahead she could see the light of a clearing she, her brother, and her father occasionally sparred in but she hadn't seen it since before last winter. As she approached she heard a horse knicker and she slowed. No one else should have been around there was no real path this way and nothing north of them.

She crept toward the clearing curious and was able to hide behind some bushes at the edge of the clearing. It was a little hard to see however and she tried to move into a better spot the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. Wild grasses were being gently blown back and forth and in the sent of the clearing a group of people stood.

They were talking amongst themselves, too quietly for Møyfrid to hear so instead she tried to discover clues about them through their appearance. There were four of them and three men and a woman. The woman was dressed the most splendidly like a queen from a poem. Her dress was dark blue and she had a cloak of feathers over her shoulder. The men were much more plainly dressed. Two were much larger men on with dark brown hair and the other with red hair. The man with reddish hair, however, had a fabulous belt and something strapped to his waist. The last man was harder to see, he was wearing a hat and leaned on a walking stick. Behind him stood a large horse without a bridle or saddle.

Møyfrid watched as they talked, and eventually must have reached some decision as the man with the walking stick broke away. The horse kneeled and he climbed easily on its back before turning and leaving the remaining three. One of them said something and the red-haired man laughed loudly making Møyfrid jump. He placed a hand on the other man's shoulder and Møyfrid noticed he was missing his right hand. She looked more closely when she heard a twig break behind her. She froze and turned slowly a huge boar stood behind her and she felt all the color drain from her face.

The animal snorted and grunted scratching the earth and bobbing its head up and down. Møyfrid didn't move trying to to provoke it. It's tusks were long , sharp and only inches away from her face. It squealed once and then ran past Møyfrid into the clearing. She turned not sure if she should try and warn the stranger's but the animal slowed to a trot and stopped beside the woman. It took its head and nestled it under her palm. As she spoke she absent mindedly stroked the animal and Møyfrid watched in awe having never seen a wild boar so friendly. She could hear the boar making more strange noises. She woman looked down at it silencing the other two. And after a moment she turned to were Møyfrid was hiding.

"Come on out" she called her accent strange to Møyfrid. Møyfrid debated just turning and running but knew the boar could catch her in a moment so hesitantly she stood not taking her eyes of the boar.

"Come here" The woman said again her two companions turning to look at Mø walked towards them trying to control the weakness in her legs. As she got closer to the trio the air felt heavier and heavier. She realized was not quite scared but something about the trio humbled her and told her not to get any closer. Now she could see the red haired man was armed. A large hammer hung from his belt. Møyfrid gawked thinking of the strength it would take to effectively use it. The other man who was missing a hand had a sword at his side. She looked at their faces and saw that her curiosity was mirrored in their eyes.

"Now what are you doing out here, all by yourself." The woman asked

"This is near my home." Møyfrid said slowly, " My father teaches us to fight here, I was going for a walk" The woman's eyes twinkled

"Really," She said her eyes twinkling, " You seem a little young to be learning to fight."

"I don't care" Møyfrid said the frankness in her voice surprisingly all of them. " I won't be a child forever." The two men chuckled and Møyfrid found herself smiling.

"Why do you want to learn to fight," The woman asked

" Why not, I want to be strong, and I want to learn as much as I can."

The trio's smiles widened and Møyfrid felt herself relaxing.

"Do you like to fight?" The red haired man asked. Møyfrid nodded.

"What is your father teaching you?"

"Well right now we are getting strong and fighting with staffs like swords."

"Do you want to fight with a sword?"

"I guess."

" Who do you fight with?"

"My brother,"

"When you practice who usually wins?"

"I do but I'm older,"

"Then," the red haired man said, "Would you like to see how you do against me?"

Møyfrid opened her mouth to answer but before she could the other man spoke up. He rested his forearm on the first man's shoulder.

"Friend," He said getting the other man's attention, " I know your intentions are good but let me. That hammer is more than dangerous to grown men and she is very young you might accidentally crush her." He chuckled.

The first man huffed but relented, " Fine, I wasn't going to use my hammer though,"

"In your hands everything is hammer."

"Have you finished deciding,"The woman said "We do not have an unlimited amount of time." Møyfrid looked and saw she now stood holding two sword sized staves. She handed the shorter one to Møyfrid and the longer to her companion.

"Do not hurt her. I don't want to have to explain anything." She man chuckled and Møyfrid tensed. Her opponent held the staff in his left hand this other arm placed beneath it to help balance it since he could not grip it. She stood watching him. He raised the staff to strike and Møyfrid moved under his arm and knocking him in the side as she stepped around and behind him. The red haired man gave a shout of surprise.

"Careful, losing to a child would be difficult to live down."

"You're pretty fast." her opponent said to Møyfrid. She wanted to smile but didn't to appear smug. She knew there was no way she could honestly beat him. This was just practice and even though she wasn't very experienced she could tell he was. If he hadn't expected her to strike him she knew it wasn't going to happen again.

He moved more quickly striking her lightly on the shoulder before she could even process his movement. She didn't focus on it because she struck again this time she saw it and countered stepping to the side. All his atacks were pulled and even though she was grateful for it at the same time it frustrated her. She looked for an opening. She wanted to take advantage of his kindness and prove that she was more capable than he believed she was. A breeze drifted from behind her and she felt a push on her back. She moved forward so quickly the fell into the space before she saw it. She lunged forward again getting too close and moving too fast for him to back away and she again hit him in the side as she passed. He turned. And Møyfrid braced not sure if he was going to attack again. But he lowered the stave and leaned against it slightly looking to his companions.

"I think she's pretty good," He said smiling then adding looking at his companions, "even without you're cheating"

"There you all are," A new voice carried over the clearing

Møyfrid turned to see another woman heading towards them. She was smaller than the other woman seemed younger. She was wearing a pale green dress with soil stains on the apron.

"What are you all doing? Who's this?" She said going the edge of the circle.

"This is Møyfrid," the first woman said gesturing to Møyfrid. "Someone wanted decided they wanted to make a fool of themselves and test her claims that she was learning to fight." She looked at the two men.

"She's good too, if she keeps it up I think she will be able to beat Thor."

"Oh," the younger woman said her eyes sparkling.

" Are you ready?" The first woman said.

"Almost, just one more thing." The smaller woman said then looked at Møyfrid, "come here dear." The two drifted away from the group.

"I've been out gathering some things and planting some seeds and I want to give you something." She reached into a small pouch hanging on her belt and offered it to Møyfrid. She held out her hand and the woman placed three seeds in Møyfrid's hands.

"Would you like to plant one them with me?" The woman asked. Møyfrid nodded.

The two of them walked a little further from the group and crouched down digging a shallow hole in the ground.

"These seeds are very special," She said as Møyfrid placed the seed in the hole. "I don't know if they will grow but will you come and check on it for me?"

Møyfrid nodded "Can I help it?"

"No, you focus on becoming all you want to be. If it is meant to grow it will grow. And if it does it will be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen" The two stood and Møyfrid offered her the unplanted seeds, "you keep them" she said. "But do not plant them until this tree has bore fruit." the woman directed before rejoining her friends.

"Ready to go?" the woman with the feathered cloak asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry for making you wait." They all turned to Møyfrid.

"You must go home now," the feather cloaked woman said. "Maybe will will meet again someday but until then learn all you can. Until next time."

"Until next time," Møyfrid repeated then looking at the group. "Thank you, Goodbye."

She turned and headed into the forest back towards her turned just as she reached the edge of the forest and looked back. The clearing was empty.

When she got home her mother was cooking dinner. "Where have you been?"

"In the clearing" she said breathless. Her mother frowned slightly, "You shouldn't wander that far."

"I'm sorry but it was so pretty."

"Then would you go see if your father's coming up the road?" Her mother asked

"Okay," Møyfrid turned to go.

"Wait, what's that" her mother said crossing the space. She reached for something stuck to her back. Møyfrid saw it was a feather. She recognized it as the same kind of feather the woman's cloak had been made of.

"Its pretty," her mother said, "keep it, it may bring you luck." She handed it to Møyfrid and Møyfrid tucked it into the pouch she had placed the seeds in. She decided to find a better way to keep it that night but for now she went back outside.

* * *

 **This took a lot longer than I meant it to. But I kept rewriting this and the next chapter. And I still can't shake the feeling it sounds cheesy but oh well. Hope every one has had a wonderful summer, and I guarantee the gap between this and the next chapter will be much shorter.**


	3. Alone

Møyfrid was alone and it was with this piece of knowledge that she knew she was alive. She felt her soul knitting itself together as she slowly gained more and more awareness of herself and the world around her. She kept her eyes closed not wanting to wake up too quickly. Something still bothered her. Something felt wrong. She felt her heart flutter as she tried to understand.

There were no sounds, no smells. There was no birds singing or sounds of people moving nor speaking. There was no breath but her. There was no sound of wind through the trees or bending around buildings or buckling tent fabric. She couldn't smell the earth or smoke or the light scent of tree sap.

She could hear and feel her heart beat pounding, pounding in her chest and ears. Her finger twitched and her slow adjustment ended. The missing pieces were set aside and her mind focused all its energy on her surroundings. She was laying down. The surface was hard but covered with cloth. Her finger twitched she felt the fabric she lay on. She pressed her palm against in and enjoyed experiencing the feeling as it faded from her senses. She filled her lungs until she couldn't hold any more air and exhaled opening her eyes.  
She wasn't outside and there were no light sources , no sunlight, or candles. She could see but she could still see clearly, above her stretched a dark grey ceiling with patterns etched in the surface. Other than these patterns it was smooth. She felt like she was looking into a metal pot, the ceiling was flat in the center but curved where it met the walls and floor.

The room was empty except from Møyfrid and the thin mat she was lying on. The etched patterns continued on the walls and floor and she saw something that looked like a door but she could see no way to open it. She sat up slowly and realized there was another door on the right wall between where she sat and the door opposite her but it too was closed.

Her armor was gone. The weapons that had hung on a thick leather belt and the belt itself was gone. She was still wearing the apron,tunic, pants, and boots she had been but everything over it was gone. The beads and charms strung between the two brooches holding the apron up tinkled as she moved. She reached to her neck and felt for the cords that she always wore. It was still there she pulled it out from her shirt. On one, the shorter string was the iron circle Bjørn had given her and the other a small pouch holding her most prized possessions. She pulled her legs close and balanced before carefully standing. Her legs felt a little weak but otherwise she felt fine. Her head tilted and her brow knit together realizing that that too was wrong.

She reached her hand around remembering the wound the little girl had given her. She felt nothing. There was no tear in her apron or tunic. She reached under and felt the slightest difference in the skin but no wound. Her hand fell slowly. She knew she had been hurt. The proof was the scar on her back but she didn't know how it had healed. Not sure what to do she focused on the room. She walked around the perimeter of the space letting her hand graze the wall and feeling the etchings as she passed. She closed her eyes as she walked around and around.

Her heart wasn't pounding in her ears now, letting her hear new sounds. She noticed a low hum and immediately felt calmer knowing some sound existed other than the beating of her own heart and her own movement. A small sound caught her attention. She stopped opening her eyes looking towards it.

One of the doors was open. She could see there was another room and walked towards it. It looked exactly the same as the room Møyfrid had been in but the occupant was still sleeping. Møyfrid recognized the girl she had hurt. She almost ran over and kneeled down next to the girl. Møyfrid could see the smallest sliver of a scar near her collarbone but like Møyfrid her clothing wasn't damaged. She looked carefully at the girl. She looked about eight years old. Her hair was a light brown and braided falling past her shoulders. Her face was pale but peaceful. Without thinking Møyfrid let her hand touch the little girl's face dragging her figure slightly near her temple. She smiled glad to know she was alright and glad to know she wasn't entirely alone here. The touch woke the girl who sat up and backed away from Møyfrid.

"It's okay," Møyfrid said showing her hands. "It's okay," The girl watched her .

"I won't hurt you," Møyfrid said.

They sat for what felt like hours. Møyfrid continued to repeat her reassurances to the girl but she didn't even know if she understood. She eventually dropped her hands and looked away. Then the girl spoke.

"You won't hurt I" she said rearranging Møyfrid's earlier statement.

"No" Møyfrid said. She girl relaxed a little and Møyfrid continued, "My name is Møyfrid." She said gesturing to herself.

"E-Ethel," The girl said.

"Ethel" Møyfrid repeated smiling.

There was no way to measure how much time was passing but she and Ethel focused on each other. Møyfrid wanted to know if Ethel had experienced anything different than she had. But that was an impossible goal considering the differences in their languages. As time ticked on Møyfrid grew more and more frustrated. She stood and started pacing the room to help her calm down eventually going to sit back with Ethel. They fell into a tense silence because of the mystery of the whole situation. She began tracing the etched patterns she dozed in and out slowly falling asleep but quickly refocused when she heard a new sound. She looked over at Ethel and saw tears running down her cheeks. Møyfrid wrapped her arms around her trying to comfort her. But every time she heard Ethel sniffle and heave Møyfrid felt the same feelings gather. Eventually she couldn't handle it and filtered her own worry into anger. She kissed Ethel's forehead before standing.

"What is this?" She screamed into the empty room. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

She let out a shrieking bellow in her frustration become beginning to pace back and forth again her eyes focused in the unopening door. A hissing sound, like something hot being placed in water filled the room. Møyfrid felt strange and stumbled back a few steps trying to move towards Ethel. She fell to her knees then slumping to the ground and falling into an unnatural sleep.

This time when she woke she didn't question where she was and instead she looked immediately to Ethel who was awake. Her eyes were wide and she have sat as far back into the corner as she could.

"Ethel," Møyfrid said looking at the girl. She sat unmoving staring at the opposite end of the room. So Møyfrid turned to look and stood. Across the room, half hidden in shadows, she saw the same mask she had seen out on the battlefield. She took a moment size the figure up.

It was unlike anything Møyfrid had seen before. Her first thought was it must be some kind of giant, but something about that didn't sit right and it didn't seem that tall. It's skin was smooth and multi-colored, the light green of the torso fading in to a dark greyish green flecked with a golden yellow. Instead of hair, long tendrils like woven leather whips fell from its head tapering at the ends. Ever tendril seemed decorated with gold, and silver rings and bands. Beneath the gold colored mask a wide high necked metal collar . Several more, longer beaded necklaces hung over her shoulders. Beneath that a doubled cloth was tied around her around her waist. And even folded over it was almost see through.

"Who are you?" She asked. The figure staid nothing but stood motionless.

"Who are you?" Møyfrid said again louder. The figure's head tilted and a voice filtered through the space.

"It's okay," "It's okay," "I won't hurt you,"

Møyfrid recognized her own voice coming from the figure. She took a step back confused. And again her own voice reassured her. Her skin prickled and she tensed trying to decide if she'd have any chance in a fight against the giant.

"Møyfrid" Ethel's tiny voice called.

"Yes," Møyfrid didn't take her eyes off the figure.

"I see food" She said after a moment of trying to decide what to say. Møyfrid's moved slightly but didn't take her eyes off the figure.

"Bring it to me," She said. Møyfrid heard Ethel move and pick up something by the wall near the mat she brought it to her offering it without turning her back to the figure. Møyfrid took a bowl carefully feeling the smooth metal surface. It was warm and her stomach growled as she smelled it. She held it for a minute then moved like she was going to try it bringing the edge of the bowl to her lips before lowering it again. She took a few steps forward and crouched placing it between her and the figure then took the other bowl and repeated the gesture setting it beside the first. She then backed away Ethel following her.

"I don't trust you," She said to the figure. Her head cocked to the side at Møyfrid's words and Møyfrid heard a strange clicking from behind the mask. She took a step forward out of the shadows approaching the bowl on the floor. She picked one up and made the same motion Møyfrid had feigning tasting before setting it back down and tapping on her mask and shaking her head. Again Møyfrid's voice filtered through the space

"I won't hurt you," then a new voice said "promise" the new voice seeming to belong to the figure itself, it was low and gravelly but still seemed distinctly feminine. She backed away from the bowls Deciding she had nothing to lose Møyfrid picked up the bowl and broke her gaze on the figure to take a long drink of the stew. It tasted like nothing she'd had before and she savored the warmth it spread through her body. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been. She waited a few minutes and then she called Ethel over. She gave her the bowl then picked up the other. She drank more deeply this time relaxing slightly. When she was done she set the bowl back down and questioned the figure again.

"Who are you?"

The figure was silent for a moment "Tiamat" Møyfrid heard her say . The word tinged with the metallic echo of the helmet as she placed a hand on her collarbone she then gestured to Møyfrid saying her name and then did the same with Ethel.

"Tiamat," Møyfrid repeated " Where are we, why are we here?" Tiamat said something but then after a moment shook her head again and instead took a step forward, Møyfrid stepped back. But Tiamat simply picked up the empty bowls and turned heading toward the door. It slid open disappearing into the wall and she motioned for them to follow. Ethel hid behind Møyfrid and they followed her. She led them through the first door into another that spanned the width of the two room they had been it and then through another door into a set the bowls down outside the door. She walked slowly occasionally looking back to make sure they were still following her. Møyfrid relaxed a little more curious now about the whole walked freely and Møyfrid hoped it was because Tiamat was extending the same trust to them. Not that the two of them had much of a chance even if they had decided to run. So far all the building was made of the same strange pattern-etched metal and was bigger than any Møyfrid had ever seen before. Tiamat stopped in front of a door and opened it. The floor of this room was covered in colorful carpets with the most elaborate patterns Møyfrid had ever seen. They covered every inch of the room's floor. Cushions and pillows were piled around the room in all different sizes and colors the walls to the right and left had two doors each but the walls were covered in various tapestries and objects. Some were weapons, masks, and jewelry. others Møyfrid had no idea what they were. The opposite wall however, was completely empty. There were no decorations no etchings, just flat grey metal. Tiamat raised her arm and fiddled with the metal bracer on her wrist and Møyfrid's eyes widened as the wall changed.

Møyfrid watched as Midgard appeared and even though she couldn't know that is what she was looking at her soul screamed it. And her first thought was how beautiful and delicate it looked. From here the waters looked so still. She could see the shapes of the land and see entire masses of clouds drift across spaces she didn't think she could cross in her entire lifetime. Her hand reaching out to touch the image. She knew the world was larger than her family, her farm, her community but this was larger than anything she could have imagined. Here was Midgard her home a little glass bead suspended in black .

* * *

I know this story is slow to start. I apologize for that. School has started back up and I'm hoping this will be my outlet for procrastination but we will see. Hope you're all having a wonderful day.


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